Chapter 28 North American Premiere
In the United States, lawsuits are commonplace.

In Hollywood, which is full of conflicts of interest, bizarre lawsuits are everywhere.

For example, Warner Bros., the other party in the "script case", was sued for copyright infringement of the horror film "The Conjuring". The plaintiff stated that he had signed a contract with the Warren couple, the prototype of the story, in 87, bought out the exclusive copyright of the story, and published the novel "The Master of Demons". Now Warner Bros. is blatantly plagiarizing my story and demanded compensation of 9 million US dollars.

Warner Bros. was stunned at the time. The total box office of "The Conjuring" series was only 9 million US dollars, and the author himself lost a lot of money.

Then the two parties went to court, and Hua Na's defense was: Our work was adapted from real events and has nothing to do with your novel.

The problem is that "The Conjuring" series is a horror film!

If you say it is a true event, then you have to find a way to prove that the supernatural events experienced by the Warrens were real.

If you want to win the case, you have to go to court and ask the ghost to testify.

Then, Hua Na Company was dumbfounded and had to pay a large sum of money to reach an out-of-court settlement with the plaintiff.

Cameron, one of Hollywood's most profitable directors, goes to court all year round.

Every time he releases a hit movie, someone will come out and claim that Cameron plagiarized their ideas.

When "Terminator" was popular, some writers claimed that Cameron plagiarized their works, but when the trial went to court, they had no evidence to prove it.

On the 20th anniversary of the release of "Titanic", a person suddenly appeared and claimed to be the prototype of Jack. Cameron wrote the script based on his own narration, but there is still no evidence.

After the release of "Avatar", five writers came out one after another, saying that Cameron copied their ideas and demanded compensation ranging from 100 million to 1 billion.

Cameron attended courts in various places and won all the cases.

Then, someone claimed that the look of “Naweiren” plagiarized his own record cover….

Therefore, Hollywood reporters would not take the "script case" too seriously, knowing that it was just Columbia Pictures hyping up the release of "The Matrix".

"Hello Mr. Jiang, I heard that you are going to sue Hua Na Company for defamation of you, is that true?" A beautiful reporter with blond hair and blue eyes and a good figure squeezed to the front and asked with a microphone.

"Of course, Warner Bros. slandered me shamelessly. They actually falsely accused a Chinese who had never been to the United States before the filming of The Matrix was completed of stealing their script. Is there anything more outrageous than this? For the sake of my reputation, I hope Warner Bros. will publicly apologize and compensate me for my mental illness."

In order to generate more buzz and generate more box office revenue, Jiang Heng had no choice but to adapt to local customs and follow the hype ideas designed by Columbia Pictures.

The beautiful reporter's eyes really lit up, she straightened up and continued to ask: "So, how much do you want?"

"I want one-fifth of the U.S. box office of The Matrix!"

A reporter nearby asked hurriedly, "So what do you think the box office of The Matrix will be?"

"I think it starts at at least 100 million US dollars!"

"One hundred million US dollars, one fifth is twenty million US dollars?"

"Oh my God, that Chinese guy actually wants 20 million dollars in compensation, is he crazy?"

"No, not 20 million, he means at least 20 million!"

"He has such beautiful dreams, how could the box office be so high!"

“It’s hard to say…!”

Reporters were talking about it, all shocked by Jiang Heng's remarks.

The people from Columbia were overjoyed. Seeing that their goal had been achieved, they happily led Jiang Heng out of the crowd and went straight to the premiere venue.

There were still many reporters here, and Jiang Heng repeated what he said at the airport before sitting down with Wu Yizu, Li Meiqi and others. "Director Jiang, are you really going to sue Hua Na?"

As a newcomer in the film industry, Wu Qiuzu felt an inexplicable pressure when he thought that Warner Bros. was a Hollywood giant.

Seeing Jiang Heng talking freely in front of a group of reporters, I was still somewhat impressed.

"The litigation costs in the United States are so high, I can't afford to sue them. This is just hype!" Jiang Heng whispered.

Li Meiqi said: "You are doing this for the promotion of the film!"

Jiang Heng smiled, "I guess so!"

"Can The Matrix really make over 100 million yuan at the box office if it's here?" Maggie Q asked seriously.

After all, North America is the world's largest film market. Only if the films she stars in can gross over 100 million in North America can she be called a true international star.

Seeing that Wu Yizu was also looking at him seriously, Jiang Heng smiled and whispered, "No more, no less!"

One of the reasons why the original "The Matrix" was a big hit at the box office was that it invited Yuan Heping to be the martial arts instructor, and the action scenes were very impressive.

Before this, no one in Hollywood knew how to shoot action scenes. Hand-to-hand combat meant you punch me, I kick you, and destroy the surrounding environment in the process.

Looks like a tough guy, but actually stupid.

This was the reason why Jackie Chan failed when he tried to make films like "The Trench" and "Cannonball Run" in Hollywood in the 1980s.

Because Jackie Chan had no leadership at that time, he had to listen to the director and producer in everything. The films he made did not reflect his strengths at all. It was not until "Rush Hour" that he truly entered Hollywood.

At the beginning of the premiere, the president of Columbia Pictures came on stage to speak first, and then someone else took over before Jiang Heng was invited to the stage.

They were followed by Wu Aizu and Li Meiqi, who both spoke briefly, and then the highlights of the movie were played.

Before arriving, all the reporters were skeptical that an unknown director from Hong Kong could make a good film worthy of being scrambled for by several major Hollywood companies.

Columbia even agreed to split the revenue and release the film on a large scale in over 2000 theaters.

When they saw the wonderful special effects on the big screen, where Trinity, played by Maggie Q, leaped into the air and kicked down her opponent while the camera spun, and Neo, played by Amber Wu, dodged bullets on the rooftop, they were all shocked.

"Oh my God, I can't believe my eyes. Such a wonderful picture is not produced by Hollywood!"

"How could such a small place like Hong Kong have such talent?"

"It's so cool. When the movie comes out, I will definitely bring my lover and kids to watch it!"

When the preview ended, the reporters present were still expressing their feelings and discussing the topic.

Looking at Jiang Heng, Wu Qiuzu and Li Meiqi again, the gaze is no longer the same as before!

Each of them had a warm smile on their face and rushed up to ask all kinds of questions.

Jiang Heng and others answered the questions one by one, and the activity was quite successful.

The next day, many American entertainment media and newspapers reported the premiere of "The Matrix", and the preview clips of the film were mostly full of praise.

Many media outlets even exaggerated their reporting of the script, changing Jiang Heng's request for one-fifth of the North American box office as compensation to one-fifth of the European and American box office, claiming it was at least 40 million US dollars.

When the leaders of Hua Na Company saw the news, they were almost mad with anger.

(End of this chapter)